RHA’s MA450i noise isolating earphones review

As some of you might know I love to listen to my favorite kind of music while designing. To get an idea of what I listen to read last weeks post of my 5 favorite albums from 2012. You can only fully enjoy it if you hear the sound as clear and natural as possible across the full sound spectrum. Volume isn't important, quality is. It can only be achieved with a quality headphone or high quality earphones. Since a couple of weeks now I've been testing a set of earphones from a Scottish brand called RHA…

RHA MA450i earphones

A couple of weeks ago RHA sent me the RHA MA450i earphones for me to test out, and I thought why not. I was curious if they would sound as good as they look, and also if they would sound better than the Apple earphones that came with my iPhone 5.

I was wary once I saw that they were in-ear ones because a bunch of years ago I bought the Apple in-ear ones and really didn't like how they sounded. The sound lacked the full spectrum that I normally prefer.

Usually I listen to music at my desk with a headphone. A headphone gives you that extra feeling of being able to shut yourself off from the world. This usually gives me a better focus on what I'm doing, as the music takes my mind elsewhere, forgetting the world around me. At this moment I have a white Beats By Dr. Dre Studio headphone that I bought from the famous Maxvoltar, and also a Sennheiser HD 595 that I used before I bought the Studio from Tim. I'm no audio expert of course, but I believe both are of good quality, although different. The HD 595 has a great sound but sometimes I found myself wanting a bit more punch. That's exactly what the Studio does. When I tried out the RHA MA450i earphones I was really surprised of its sound quality.

Never thought that earphones could sound so good. Not that Apple's earphones don't sound good though. The new ones that come with the iPhone 5 are great, and in my opinion they are a nice improvement over the ones that came with the iPhone 4S. They also sit better in my ear than the previous ones. Still, the RHA ones sound better than these. They have a richer sound and the bass is clear and tight without overdoing it. I also like the balance between the mids and highs that creates the right balance. In other words decent sound for the money.

But the thing I like most about these earphones is the fact that they're also noise-cancelling. So you're totally focussed on the sound. They shut you off pretty well. I had no idea this existed for earphones too. When I'm on the go, I love to listen to music to spend my time on the train or the plain. Then noise-cancelling is definitely preferred. A headphone is less practical in this situation as it's big to carry with you. A set of earphones is small and handy. You can just put them in your purse and off you go! Oh… and in case some of you are wondering, no I never listen to music when I'm on my bicycle. This is not only for safety reasons, it's also because I want all my attention focussed on the cycling, and the surroundings. I want to experience it completely, and in this case, music would only distract me. For designing on the other hand, it's perfect and I totally love it.

Specs of the MA450i Black/White

The MA450i is a high spec earphone that combines good sound quality with an inline remote to control play, volume and skip while you listen to music and a microphone for telephone calls. The MA450i is available in white or black, and has the following other specifications or extras:

Dynamic speaker for high definition sound with full bass

Machined from solid aluminium

A choice of seven pairs of soft silicone ear-tip for a secure, comfortable fit

Fabric braided cable for reduced tangling and prolonged cable life

iPhone/iPod/iPad remote and microphone

3.5mm gold plated connections

Carry case and ear-tip storage box

Where to buy

You can buy the RHA MA450i earphones with a temporary 20% discount on Amazon.uk, Amazon.de or Amazon.fr. Unfortunately the discount doesn't work on Amazon.com as the RHA MA450i earphones are only sold via (all) U.S. Apple stores and the discount doesn't work there. They cost $49.95 in the U.S.

Special Offer

Special Offer

If you like to buy a set of RHA MA450i earphones, you get 20% off when using my promo code veerle20 on either Amazon.uk, Amazon.de or Amazon.fr. (Offer valid until April 1st 2013)